Tuesday, October 07, 2008

The Password Reset Disk is essentially a small file that can be used to reset your password, even if you have changed your password since creating the reset disk. This can be extremely valuable for preventing any embarrassing situations.This is a file I keep on my tools USB stick I carry. You never know when you have someone that doesn't remember the password to log into their computer. I have had a few calls in the past asking for help.I haven't tried it on a windows XP computer I don't think it will work, I have another tool for that.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Do people who pay $299 to $399 for a Linux notebook suffer greater levels of buyer’s remorse compared to those buying Windows machines?This was an interesting read, If your thinking about getting a cheap linux based netbook you should read the full story.

No matter what firewall you are using, if you are connecting to services online without using encryption there's a chance for your data to be hijacked, especially if you are connecting over a wireless network. Today we'll show you how to turn on SSL for Gmail while still allowing the Gmail Notifier to work properly.

Turning on SSL for Gmail is hardly a secret anymore, but getting the Gmail Notifier to continue to work isn't quite as well known, so we're covering both just for completeness. You can also think of this as a reminder to enable SSL if you haven't already.I know a lot of us use Gmail, this tells you how to make it more secure. This includes a registry hack so remember to always back up your registry before you make any changes.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-05-08. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific that's 1PM to 4PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat. If you prefer, you can download the same MP3 file here via ftp.

Please remember if your coming to the Wiping Off Ceremony for Jack in Ft Worth on Saturday, October 25th. Please click here for the official invitation as well as RSVP information. Please RSVP to jayna@oncomputers.info by October 1st. (Your late, but if your coming let her know.)The hosts will be staying at the Residence Inn, Ft. Worth Alliance airport for the weekend.

1) Starting green as usual, this is one I recently ran across that looked very promising, easy and already there. I am referring to using the pavement in roads, and parking lots to collect solar power. Anyone who has tried to walk barefooted on the pavement in the summer knows how hot it can get. The other big advantages range from not needing to allocate any new land for a solar farms, there are millions of acres already owned by the state. They would be totally invisible, no unsightly collectors on the roof; they would provide both hot water, and electricity. Here is a link to a story in ECO Worldly Magazine. http://blogs.zdnet.com2) Next up is on a subject that is bound to be surfacing on the net due to our economic melt down. I got an Email touting a new investment “unrelated to the stock market” “totally safe virtually no risk” “extremely large returns” you know all the usual hype. They were trying to sell a news letter about something called “Secured Investment Contracts”. Being of a curious nature and having Google near by I decided to look them up, because I have never heard of them. You know you are looking for something weird when it is not clearly listed in Wikipedia. Looking around I ran across a site that may prove useful. Kind of like the internet myth sites, except they specialize in investment stuff. First a link to the email I got. http://www.stansberryresearch.com Now a link to the investigative site, the link will take you to the report on the email. http://www.stockgumshoe.com3) This is one of those just interesting reading sites I ran across. It is a site run by NASA, has lots of interesting reading, mostly of a science nature. The site is called the Earth Observatory. Everything from night pictures of cities on earth from space, to the history of the Mayan Civilization. Just another of those places to spend a little time clicking and reading. http://earthobservatory.nasa4) This is a bit on the zany side, and I need to put a language alert into the mix, for some reason the writer chose to use some colorful words, mostly blue. Anyway I got a good laugh from it. It is about several ways to launch things into space that while they would probably work, just never made it of the drawing boards. Although they were actually considered as possibilities. I am not going to go into a lot of detail as I don’t want to spoil the plot. http://www.cracked.com5) I know i missed my geek link for the week, it is getting late and I just have not found one. So I am going to throw another green one at you. This is something I ran across that sounds interesting, seems down under, you know Australia they are investigating the idea of switching people off eating beef, and sheep to help the environment. Makes a lot of sense to me they want to go to roo, sorry I could not resist. Seems Kangaroos, are much leaner, easier on the environment as they do not produce methane, eat the local plants, are very drought resistant, and have several other pluses. See “Jack in the Box” was just way ahead of their time. Anyway an interesting read in the Opinion. http://www.abc.net.au/